MacArthur Foundation funds $50m for Digital Media Literacy

The MacArthur Foundation announcement and panel discussion this morning was dual-presence in Second Life (SL) as well as Real Life (RL). We had a two-way streaming video/audio feed between NY and SL. There were 30-40 avatars, and we had our own backchannel chat at the same time. Questions from the participants in Second Life were IMed to NY, so we had virtually the same access to the panel as the audience in NY.

There will be a bunch of blogging on this with transcripts and summaries (see links below), however a few interesting points:

1) K-12 focus, but money is going to Universities as well 2) A major look outside of the classroom, in how learning is taking place after school, using new media technologies to communicate and collaborate, and also learning from the use of technologies, with examples such as fan fiction, digital games and game creation, digital documentary creation 3) Com dept of University of Illinois-Chicago got a grant to teach media literacy 4) Some key terms thrown around:

Links

Press Announcement

Excerpts from a Chronicle of Higher Education article “MacArthur Foundation Will Spend $50-Million on Efforts to Improve Teaching With Technology”:

> A major foundation plans to announce today that it will provide $50-million over the next five years to universities and nonprofit organizations to learn how youngsters use technology. The project’s goal is to find better ways of incorporating technology into teaching.

> Most of the research will focus on teaching K-12 students… But colleges and universities will play a big part in developing the techniques for teaching them. Money will also be given to nonprofit organizations that are setting up after-school programs to teach children how to use technology.

> “Media literacy right now is treated as an added-on subject,” Mr. Jenkins (of MIT) says. “We want to say, No, it’s a paradigm shift.”

> Most teachers do not know how to incorporate digital media into their curriculum or how to evaluate it effectively, he says. His goal is to give teachers a better understanding of the technology.

> For example, scientists today use simulation tools for research and presentations. Students should be able to take advantage of similar tools to learn about science and to turn in their own assignments, he says.

MacArthur Foundation funds $50m for Digital Media Literacy
Here is a shot of the audience before the event began. About 10-15 more avatars showed up throughout the event, which had two-way streaming media. The event was held at the Gonick Auditorium, New Media Consortium Campus, Second Life.

No related posts.

Leave a Reply